The 1994 BMW 320i "Jägermeister" ÖTM (RoG)

[godfather23]

Hey fellow modellers,

After the marvelous Hasegawa Ferrari 250 TR kit I stepped down into the hell of Revell fitment issues with this Red Bull BMW 320i from the Österreichische Tourenwagenmeisterschaft 1994 (ÖTM). I will try to make the No. 4-Luitpold-von-Bayern-Version.





This kit should be well known in this forum since I posted about the true Red-Bull-color considering only Tamiya Spray Can Paints and about the issue with the yellowish decals (they are hanging in my window since monday now).

I started this kit with some work on the underchassis and on some parts of the interior. The underchassis has been painted pure white (TS-26)



Since this is a curbside kit, there is only some minor engine detail on the chassis. I hate that for two reasons: no real engine and mainly because there is always a massive masking job to take care of, when you want to get the engine detail painted in a fair quality.





After adding the tank, this is what the underchassis looks like right now.



I started to paint all the parts needed for the underchassis as well for the wheel-set-up. I just love these paint stands.



The detail on the body is crude. Just look at this massive emblem Revell provided. It will be sanded down when I get to the paint job of the body.



The rollcage doesn´t fit at all. Neither into the "interior-tub" as well as within itself. When you build the cage using the "nipples" as marked on the single pieces you end up with a cage that does not touch the interior in any places except the bottom. Since this will be visible from the rear and I don´t like a "hanging-gardens-rollcage", I changed the angle of the rear cross bar.



Next up is the completion of the underchassis as well as the wheel-set-up. Wish me luck that everything fits somehow.

Comments are more than welcome.

Robert

[jano11]

Nice start!
I'll be following your build closely as I have the same kit waiting on the shelf.

[godfather23]

Update.

The rear underchassis is assembled. A wash will be applied, when the front is done.





Problems could have risen at final assembly. Some dry fitting showed that using the rear axle set-uo provided as it is in the kit the wheels won´t fit into the arches. They will stick out and the whole thing will look like a degenerated rice-mobile. For solving this the rear brake discs will be sanded down to provide enough room for the wheels.



See you next time.

Robert

[MPWR]

Looks like a fun büild!

Wouldn't worry too much about the lack of engine on this one. E36's don't have the most interesting looking powerplants. A plastic cover saying BMW is most of what you can see.

The Revell kit is reböxed from Dragon and Hasegawa. It is by no means terrible, and with a bit of work can look terrific.

The röundel bump on the nose is actually accurate. It is the same size and shape as the aluminum parts I use to replace röundel bumps on other kits. It measures out just fine to the standard röundel BMW uses. It may look odd in plastic, but put a decal over it and it looks spot on. Measure it- if it comes out to about 3.3mm, it's fine. Standard röundels are just over 3" in dia in 1/1.

I'd say that the röll cage is a real weak point of this kit. It will take some work to get it to fit- but then I'm yet to find a kit with a röllcage that doesn't take some work.

I would have recommended cutting the plastic around the engine out between the engine mounting rails. From underneath, this gives the engine bay the depth it's otherwise missing. (It also makes masking the engine for painting much easier.) But as you've already painted it, it's probably not worth the effort at this point.

Looking forward to seeing it come together. The Red Bull scheme should look spectacular.

[Robi J]

Nice and clean start. I'll follow it

Robi

[SCORPIONFB]

Very nice star!. I like so much this kit. Unfortunately mine came without that spectacular decal sheet. Keep it up!.
Regards,
FABIO

[KevHw]

Originally Posted by MPWR

The röundel bump on the nose is actually accurate. It is the same size and shape as the aluminum parts I use to replace röundel bumps on other kits. It measures out just fine to the standard röundel BMW uses. It may look odd in plastic, but put a decal over it and it looks spot on. Measure it- if it comes out to about 3.3mm, it's fine. Standard röundels are just over 3" in dia in 1/1.

On reading that, I really hope you haven't sanded it off yet .

Nice progress...looking forward to seeing more and what it'll look like after the washes.

[godfather23]

Originally Posted by MPWR

The röundel bump on the nose is actually accurate. It is the same size and shape as the aluminum parts I use to replace röundel bumps on other kits. It measures out just fine to the standard röundel BMW uses. It may look odd in plastic, but put a decal over it and it looks spot on. Measure it- if it comes out to about 3.3mm, it's fine. Standard röundels are just over 3" in dia in 1/1.

I haven´t sanded it off yet so your comment came well in time. Regarding this I will keep it. Once again it was a good idea to share ideas about the build in this forum - made me skip a mistake I would regret later on.

Originally Posted by MPWR

I'd say that the röll cage is a real weak point of this kit. It will take some work to get it to fit- but then I'm yet to find a kit with a röllcage that doesn't take some work.

Simple answer. Tamiya´s Mercedes Benz CLK-DTM "Original Teile". In that kit the roll cage fits into the "interior tub" like a knife through warm butter...

Originally Posted by MPWR

I would have recommended cutting the plastic around the engine out between the engine mounting rails. From underneath, this gives the engine bay the depth it's otherwise missing. (It also makes masking the engine for painting much easier.) But as you've already painted it, it's probably not worth the effort at this point.

I´m not sure how it will look, when cut out. You´re right about the white excess around the engine: That is not very realistic. But besides that - since there won´t be an engine anyways - when you look from underneath you just stare into a big black hole around what resembles the engine. I don´t know if that looks better compared to what I have right now.

Maybe I could darken the white excess around the engine to make it a little more realistic.

Thanks for everybody´s input. It is well appreciated. I will order the color this afternoon and Andy - your rims go into the mail no later than monday.

Robert

[klutz_100]

put in the engine you have leftover from the 250

Very nice progress so far

[godfather23]

To exemply my message concerning the lack of kit-quality (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul....php?t=921077), I would like to show you regarding this build the odd modifications necessary to make the rear wheels fit in straight line with front wheels underneath the wheel houses.

Right rear brake disc and wheel hub before reworking:


After an hour of careful sanding and refitting numerous times the rear brake discs and wheel hubs.
right:


left:


Notice the difference in thickness as well as the odd shape. Building the rear supension system with the kits layout both rear wheels would point into different directions and no straight lining with the front would be possible.

Why does Revell construct a kit in a way that doesn´t build into a decent model without reworking the main alignment of wheels? Maybe my kit was warped and is an exception! .
I don´t mean to moan and b***ch about this issue. I´m fine with reworking it and just wanted to mention this issue for any future BMW-320i-builders.

Oh yeah, front suspension and brake sets done and fitted. Same issues as with the rear but not as bad. Here we go:



Cheers and happy modeling. I´m gonna go take a cold shower

Robert

[MPWR]

Out of curiosity, have you fitted the wheels on the chassis with the body mounted? If I remember correctly, the wheel arches molded on the chassis have gaps to the wheel arches on the body- so the ones on the chassis shouldn't be used as your primary reference for correcting the suspension. If you match the wheels to the chassis arches, as soon as the body is installed the wheels may look verrry narrow....

[godfather23]

Originally Posted by MPWR

Out of curiosity, have you fitted the wheels on the chassis with the body mounted? If I remember correctly, the wheel arches molded on the chassis have gaps to the wheel arches on the body- so the ones on the chassis shouldn't be used as your primary reference for correcting the suspension. If you match the wheels to the chassis arches, as soon as the body is installed the wheels may look verrry narrow....

Yep, I reworked the whole thing test fitting with the body mounted to the chassis. I did this because I was afraid of you just described. I´m looking for this tight touring-race-car-look w/o having the wheels stick out of the wheel arches. That would look "Fast-and-the-Furious"-ridiculous.

Thanks for the reminder though.

Robert

[godfather23]

Well, small update.
I painted the rims and fitted the wheels to the chassis to find out whether there are some issues to expect during final assembly. I took some pictures and please judge yourself if the wheels look right or if something needs to be corrected. Right now it looks okay for me.











I also discovered that driver side A-pillar is warped.



Does anybody of you have an idea how to correct this tiny problem or will it fix itself once the windows are installed?

Cheers and happy modelling

Robert

[DerXL]

Hi Robert

I've had the same thing with a Tamiya XJ220 kit.
There are several ways to try and fix this, but the method I used involves a hair dryer.
I used a hair drayer to slightly heat the plastic. Be careful not to heat it too much though. By heating the A-pillar slightly it can be bend (carefully) back into the right shape.

You might even try this without heating the A-pillar, but it will be harder to get it back into shape without adding heat.

On the other hand, I don't know how soft the Revell plastic is (I've been told it's quite soft), so maybe it will indeed stay in shape when the window is glued in. But I wouldn't bet on it, if I were you...

Hope this helps.

Good luck in fixing that pillar.

[MPWR]

You can of course see better than anyone, but I think it looks pretty good. I think it has that 'toüring car squat'.

I would definitely recommend against going near it with a hairdryer. Yes you can soften and change the shape of the plastic, but that doesn't mean you're likely to get it back to the desired shape. More likely, it would end up more bent and twisted than it is now. I would try to glue it in shape when you install the windows.